Tonight is the last night that will be spent in Louisville. Tomorrow comes and I will find myself traveling back to my home town of Danville. If anyone has tried to get a hold of me throughout this week and haven't been able to reach me, I want to apologize but not really apologize because I have intentionally turned my phone off for the majority of the trip. The reason for that was to take away many distractions that the world throws at me. I was solely committed to serving the homeless and thinking about it all the time while being down here. With that being said I take a lot away from this trip in Louisville serving the homeless.
John 3:30 hit me hard this week. "He must become greater. I must become less." Looking at those 8 words has really transformed me this week. God is our ROCK and our FORTRESS. It is not us living in the world but rather Christ living through us. I asked God to break my heart this week and he came through. Speaking with the homeless last night on the street was amazing but today in the homeless shelter was even better. I worked the storage closet today for 4 and half hours where I would check in and out bags that the homeless would bring in. That developed many conversations. One sticks out above the rest. Talking to the last person of the day to check a bag in. He was an older gentlemen from Tennessee and was a Veteran that served for the later part of the seventies into the early eighties. I am not really for sure why he sticks out above the rest, but he mentioned that as long as his heart is beating than he is not giving up on his life. I suddenly started feeling for the gentlemen. After lunch was over, everyone that I was with decided to take a nap. Only problem was, I couldn't sleep. I was having a "backpack" kind of day (A backpack day is a day that I just have the urge to grab my backpack and start walking. Where I go is not a question. I just start walking). As I walked downtown Louisville alone, it gave me the time to take in everything from this week. I realized that the my problems don't come near to ANY of the things that the homeless encounter on a daily basis. You may argue saying that they throw this on themselves and being homeless is what they deserve. To some extent that could be a true statement. But do you truthfully mean that? Seriously?! It is very sad when I hear that come out of someones mouth. I see that as just an excuse not to help someone in need. Either way you want to look at it, you need to realize that they are God's creation just as much as you are! God molded you the same way that he molded everyone else in the world. Just because you have money and feel in control about everything in the world doesn't make you more important than the 7 month pregnant women living on the street walking from shelter to shelter or the homeless Vietnam veteran who couldn't get back on solid ground because he was suffering from PTSD and can't find any help. I am sure that you have heard it before but, these are people too! Whether you see a homeless person on a daily basis or only see them when you go to big towns, you should keep them in your prayers. They need it! All they can get. They are clay formed from our Gods hands also.
I loved every second here serving the Lord in Louisville. As I go on, I am excited to see what God does with my life next and where I will be. It is exciting! Question is, are you?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IduHRMRcy9A&feature=related
-JDB
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